On the Cover: Gary Mauricio

IT pro Gary Mauricio is a lifelong Londoner working in his 13th year at StarTech.com, a local company founded in 1985 by Western Alumni, Paul Seed and Ken Kalopsis. Gary works as one of two network administrators on a dedicated team of IT specialists who support StarTech’s London headquarters, as well as distribution facilities in the US and UK and employees worldwide.

“I’m proud to be working for a London success story like StarTech.com,” says Gary.

That pride and dedication translates into passion and motivation when it comes to lifelong learning.

Gary was motivated to enrol in the Leadership Program at Western Continuing Studies to enhance his assertiveness and improve his communication and conflict resolution skills.

“Caution: You will get to know yourself better in the process,” teases Gary.

Professional vs. Personal Learning Benefits

In IT, Gary and his team are regularly tasked with implementing change, and with change can often come conflict.

“When there are conflicting positions on which way to proceed, we are taught that these positions are made up of interests,” says Gary. “It is only when I uncovered these interests that I found commonalities between the positions we leveraged to achieve a win-win outcome.”

On a more personal level, Gary notes that the WCS Leadership Program helped him to recognize that his core values are separate from his interests.

“Often times, when my wife and I were making a decision, I would err on the side of comfort and familiarity in order to protect what I thought were my core values,” admits Gary. “The Leadership Program helped me realize that my values can remain intact while still allowing me to pursue new and more exciting interests – win-win!”

Leveraging as a Leader

Whether you’re taking on a new project at the office or tackling the world of parenting at home, there is always a common goal to be achieved among the members of the group. For Gary, the correlation between leading in the workplace and leading at home came into play when he was trying to get his daughter ready for school and out the door each morning.

“The morning routine at our house was a significant source of stress for all involved! While I was away, my daughter was able to get herself ready for school without an issue. After speaking with her, she told me that she liked ‘being in charge’ of her morning routine.

“As a leader, it is important to understand the aptitudes and personality traits of the people you interact with and leverage them to accomplish the common goal. By providing her the autonomy she desired, our morning routine has been stress-free!”

Our Fall 2017 Course Calendar is now available online! Take a glance at all our course offerings running from September to December.

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